<p>"Is this more of a pot or beer school?"
I think that is a good question although it is actually fairly easy to determine.</p>
<p>Since we had been through many tours ( middle school tours but still- it was as expensive or more so than some of the colleges)
we were jaded and judged schools on their cafeterias and the kind of coffee that was sold. ( we also picked co-op preschools by what the parents brought for snack- one preschool I ruled out, because they had velvetta and soda crackers ;) they could have cheese and crackers but the crackers better be whole grain and the cheese artisan- I don't think I am kidding )</p>
<p>I did think it was a little odd that corporate suck-ups day was apparently prospective student tour day on campus- I didn't expect anything like that, but I did enjoy commenting on the nice legs of the male students in their boxers and suit jackets drinking martinis</p>
<p>* I think they would have been insulted if I didn't notice*</p>
<p>You bring up a good point - it would be nice to have kids-only tours available. It'd cut down on the size of the group, let the kids have more of a chance to speak up, and let the guide be perhaps more frank in the responses.</p>
<p>We went on the tours....we wanted to see where our hard earned dollars were going to be spent. BUT we stayed at the BACK of the group, way at the back. DD judged the schools on what the tour guides wore. At Claremont McKenna, the guide looked like she was going to run a car wash, not a tour. DD thought that was sloppy. At Pepperdine, the tour guide looked like something out of a prep school year book...but DD noticed that ALL of the students actually looked the same. She didn't apply to either school.</p>
<p>That reminded me of a tour we took at a school known to be, well, rather "social". The tourguide was an extroverted lunk, like a big puppy. One the parents asked him if there was drinking in the dorms. The guide responded, truthfully, that yes, beer was unofficially allowed, but that it was kept fairly lowkey. Well, this Dad then launched into his best Perry Mason mode and proceeded to crucify this kid over underage drinking, violation of campus rules, state law and common decency.</p>
<p>The rest of us wanted to help the kid out but realized that he was already too deep in the quicksand.</p>
<p>"A few days later I went to my regular babysitting job, working for two married attorneys who happened to be Jewish. When I told them the story, they jumped up and down saying I must accept the offer since it was a such a great opportunity and I'd never regret it and I'd never ever think about the money. By the time the dean called again, I had changed my mind--much to the fury of my parents who now had to fork out umpteen thousands. they were incredulous that their Jewish neighbors had dared to intervene."</p>
<p>Sorry, cheers, but I don't get the reference to the religion of your neighbors, does your father hate Jews or something?</p>
<p>I actually dont understand why Jewish was relevant at all.</p>
<p>I can see why the parents were a little put out when the neighbors strongly encouraged a change in plans( without speaking to parents first it sounds like) shortly before school started, even if it did seem to work out in the end. BUt why did mentioning that the neighbors were Jewish add anything to the story?</p>
<p>I was the only minority in my tour group at a fairly renowned LAC... shortly after the tour begins, a Caucasian student harasses me about my race, then 4 students came (1 Asian, 1 Hispanic, 1 Black, and 1 I couldn't tell), pretended to beat him to unconciousness, and carried him off...</p>
<p>uh..... ok, anyway... I'm going to a different school</p>
<p>At Wesleyan the tour guide claimed that, if school were in session (it was summer), people would be moaning and clinging to our legs in order to persuade us to go there.</p>
<p>The anecdote I posted earlier about the freshman guide being offered beer during the tour was from Wesleyan as well. There was also a surprising number of students partaking in interpretive dance (at least I think that's what it was) outside on the grass. But mostly everyone was drinking beer.</p>
<p>Jewish was relevant in my story because Jewish culture treasures premier university education--as do other cultures; ie Chinese, Russian, Korean, Japanese and so on. These neighbors were promoting their own cultural values--and to good effect in my opinion.</p>
<p>Some cultures do not hold premier university education quite as high--including my own Anglo-Irish family.</p>
<p>Thanks for tagging my dad as a racist though. Loved that.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Jewish was relevant in my story because Jewish culture treasures premier university education...
[/quote]
If you remove the phrase "premier university", your comment might have some degree of truth to it. Otherwise, you're referring to individuals -- not an entire culture.</p>
<p>cheers...i understood thoroughly the enthusiasm your neighbors had...there is one more aspect the jewish culture embraces and that is the act of learning...to be surrounded by brilliant minds..to have amazing daily discussions ..not rushing thru college to get to a job..
of course we want a great, lucrative career at the end but the next 4 years is life itself ..enjoy your years of enlightenment</p>
<p>From "cheers": "I wish they would separate the kids from the fifty-somethings tagging along like so many past-it hangdogs. I used to live next to a top 25 university and, let me tell you, the sight of so many anxious boomers pretending to be enraptured by a perky student tour guide is...kinda pathetic. I couldn't bring myself to do it. We let our sons do the tours and info sessions on their own. We hung out on the quad or in the student union, feeling slightly stupid."</p>
<p>I believe that Mr. or Ms. Cheers is (maybe) a parent who also thinks, from his/her above quote, that "anxious boomers" are "past-it hang-dogs."</p>
<p>So, Isacc, I think cheers has had his/her "years of enlightenment", long ago.</p>
<p>our visit to Oberlin was interesting. As we exited the admissions office for "The Tour" a large group of students ran by wearing skirts and with painted faces. No it wasnt a GLBT affair but a spontaneous Braveheart reinactment. As we traveled around the campus we could regularly hear the spirited shouts in the distance from the Wilder Bowl. I guess the Anglo's were already there prepared to battle the Scots. </p>
<p>It left quite an impression on our S, boosting Oberlin to the top of his list at the time. And it gave him a topic for his supplemental essay.</p>
<p>Admissions office student outreach rep at top Midwestern U, assigned to call and sell the school to potential acceptees, pleaded with applicant to please not come there if accepted. Her experience at the school had been horrible.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Admissions office student outreach rep at top Midwestern U, assigned to call and sell the school to potential acceptees, pleaded with applicant to please not come there if accepted. Her experience at the school had been horrible.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not quite so dramatic a story as the above, but a student outreach rep from a top tech school on the west coast assigned to call a newly admitted student to encourage her to enroll was quite lukewarm, saying that she had spent a good bit of her freshman year wi****lly wishing she'd gone to Stanford instead, but in the end, decided "it wasn't so bad here."</p>
<p>These stories are so funny. I've read other threads bemoaning the fact that tour guides are too much boosters for their colleges and visitors should seek out regular students to get the low-down, and here are the salespersons (oops, tour guides) from... where exactly?</p>